My eyeballs are quite fond of the delicacy that is unique formatting in books.
What is “unique formatting???”, you might be asking whilst you gnaw on a cupcake or a piece of cheese or the souls of your mortal enemies. WELL. It’s when a book frolics past normality and adds illustrations, or uses verse, or changes the font size, or explodes the font all over the page, or just does some little things that shake up the way an average book is written. Because uniquely formatted books are Not Like The Other Books™ and they are Independent Young Hipsters Who Can Stand On Their Own And Don’t Need Society’s Approval. *
And, quite frankly? I absolutely LOVE IT. Books with peculiar formatting are auto-need for me. I read a lot, okay? And everything starts to sound the same after you’ve read 2,401 books about red-haired rebellious heroines with two boyfriends and a country to save, who’s probably a lost princess and has the personality of three collective dead onions. I want to read text that illustrates the book’s emotions! I WANT VISUALS. I want to go “ooooh woah” while reading like the eloquent fish I am.
bRING IT.
I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday for their prompt “Top Ten Of The Most Unique Books” and I’m going to list some with epic unique formatting! Mostly because I’m actually a child and think more books should have PICTURES in them. Or something crazy happening with the font, at least. **
How am I a bookworm with the attention span of a dead moth? No one knows. It’s one of life’s best kept secrets.
* Unless they are a paperback??? And they they aren’t going to stand. They’re going to flop around like a spineless eggplant and need life long assistance. Reason #9289 why hardcovers are better.
** I’M ALSO GASTON BECAUSE WHY DOESN’T THE BOOK HAVE PICTURES IN IT???????
1. THE BOOOK THIEF
This one is unique for a whole conglomeration of reasons like, HELLO IT’S NARRATED BY DEATH. And Death likes to put little existential crises statements in now and then because why not apparently.
They’re also delightfully quotable and Death just might be my favourite character…which makes me feel a little bit odd.
But these things happen.
2. THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO
I loved this book. Have I read the others? HAHHAHAHAH #NO OF COURSE NOT DON’T BE RIDICULOUS. I haven’t had time. Honestly I don’t have time for anything on my TBR at the moment??? There’s a conspiracy in 2017 to give us less hours and I’m lodging a formal complaint to the atmosphere. I may even stamp my foot. I’m pretty riled.
Anyway.
There are lots of confusing explosions of font in this book to summarise what it’s like to live in a town where everyone can hear your thoughts.
BASIC REPRESENTATION OF MY MIND TOO. But holy kelp, please let no one ever read my thoughts. There are dark mad dragons there and I don’t know who’d start crying first, me or you.
3. CHALLENGER DEEP
This book took me a looooong time to actually get into because it was so endlessly confusing. But that was also the point??!? It’s about schizophrenia (the author wrote it based on his son’s experiences!) and it’s smushes together reality and delusions and IT’S ACTUALLY A PIECE OF ART, TO BE HONEST. Plus it has these fantastic drawings that I am 1000% here for.
It just really adds to the experience of this glimpse of what it’d be like in Caden’s mind.
4. ME BEING ME IS EXACTLY AS INSANE AS YOU BEING YOU
THIS BOOK IS ENTIRELY WRITTEN IN LISTS AND THAT’S JUST PHENOMENAL. I LOVE LISTS. WHO DOESN’T LOVE LISTS??? LISTS ARE THE REASON LIFE CONTINUES. *
Unfortunately the book is about a seriously angsty boy who’s 78% ungrateful and kind of like a potato salad without the mayonnaise or the potatoes so really just salad and that’s a small horror story right there. But lists. It’s nearly worth it just for that.
* Some people think the reason of life is, like, family or happiness or achieving contentment but pfffft. It’s making lists.
5. THERE WILL BE LIES
Since the narrator is deaf, there are lots of gaps in the dialogue in this book! I think that’s such an excellent visual of how inaccurate lip reading is and how often people forget to cater to a Deaf person’s needs.
And sometimes I felt like I was only getting half the story, which is exactly Shelby goes through.
6. HALF BAD
OKAY JUST PAUSE A MINUTE FOR MY PRECIOUS HALF BAD CHILDREN OF NATHAN AND GABRIEL WHOM I LOVE SO MUCH AND DON’T TALK ABOUT EVEN HALF ENOUGH. This series is 500% destined to smush your heart into little pieces. I’m still not okay, to be honest. Whenever I glance at the covers, I go back to howling.
10/10 recommend having your heart broken by these books.
ME LOOKING THROUGH THE HOLE THAT WAS MY HEART.
Also Nathan has a learning disability and serious PTSD from the torture he’s been through, and the font goes wild to reflect when he’s having a meltdown. And the book has lists. Like we’ve established: any book that has lists is excellent.
7. 5 TO 1
I’m not a real huge fan of books partially told in prose?? I mean, it’s cool. But I have about as much poetry comprehension as a piece of bread. I’m a cute piece of bread, but yet…unpoetic nonetheless.
I did like how this book is an Indian dystopian though!! AND THAT COVER, RIGHT?!?
8. NEVERNIGHT
Did I ever tell you I have a huge weakness for footnotes?!? I MEAN IT’S HARD TO TELL ON THIS BLOG OF COURSE. * And while Nevernight and I were a bit skeptical of each other at first…I’m quite mildly fond of it now. It’s super stabby. Super bloody. SUPER FOOTNOTEY. **
I heard most people hated the footnotes, because they just give random bits of world building…but the narrator is super sarcastic and I relate. Except I’m not very sarcastic. Just on Thursdays through to Mondays. Occasionally on Tuesday afternoon. From 3pm to 4:15pm on Wednesdays. That sort of thing. I have a schedule.
* I use footnotes only rarely.
** This is a word. And if not, when I rule the world officially, it’ll be a word so best prepare your dictionaries now.
9. THE LEAVING
This has 70 billion narrators but one of them has unique formatting in her chapters AND I LIKE IT. When the words start acting like they’re on a roller coaster of emotions or else the printer got stuck??? I’m totally a fan.
It captures the feeling of the words visually and I need all the help I can get with feelings. #VulcanAtHeart
10. ILLUMINAE
This is obviously the ULTIMATE BOOK OF UNIQUE FORMATTING because the entire book is told in emails, transcripts, art, photos, and glorious maps of spaceships. I’ve never been more in love with how a book looks??? This is just TOO AMAZING and I want 99 more books like this.
It just makes me so so happy to read books with pictures. Apparently I am Peter Pan. Feel free to use my new title.
And I was about to shout “WHO’S READY FOR ILLUMINAE 3 THIS YEAR?!?!?” but I realised none of us are ever going to be ready. We basically just need it to put us out of our misery. These books are so so good. So so pain. The authors actually snack on bagels made of our pain and sip our tears for their morning brunch. #TrueStoryMate
…You are kidding, right, because how can you say that NONE OF US ARE READY FOR ILLUMINAE #3!?!?!?
I’m offended. I like having my heart torn out and stomped on by 30, 000 killer drones! It’s fun!
I’M SORRY, ZYNAH. OF COURSE THE HEARTLESS PEOPLE ARE READY. *coughs innocently* 😜😉😂😂
*creepy Cheshire cat smile spreads wide over face*
I JUST REALIZED HOW CREEPY I SOUND OMG I AM NORMAL DO NOT BE FOOLED
I’M SURE YOU’RE NORMAL. I NEVER FOR ONE MINUTE SUSPECTED OTHERWISE.
Yes, more pictures please and more unique formatting! I like books with normal text fine enough but every once in a while I LOVE to read a book with unique formatting. I loved Illuminae and Gemina for example. Another book with unique formatting I can think of, is The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan. The whole story is written in the form of a dictionary, with each word entry being sort of a different chapter. Some are only a couple of lines long, others are a couple of pages. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read but I liked it well enough and it was quite unique. I also like pictures in books! But strangely enough I prefer to read actual books over comics and graphic novels and manga. Somehow I find it easier to read a book with mostly text (with pictures and / or unique formatting), instead of reading a book that is like a comic and has just little bits of dialogue and not much other text.
Omg I had no idea about The Lover’s Dictionary!! I definitely want to try it sometime now.😍😍 I think unique formatting can really capture the attention and just shake things up a bit, right?!? These kind of books always stick with me longer too. IT’S SO NICE.
I haven’t read a lot of manga, just the Death Note books, but I did love them. 😂
I actually LOVE letters in books! It’s all so cool and the italics!! I also like when books have flashbacks and they are in italics. I think I just like Italics a lot XD
I kinda HATE books written in prose – like ONE by Sarah Crossan. I haven’t read it but one look at it and I was put off!
DETAILED PICTURES AND AUTHENTIC PICTURES AND JUST PICTURES IN BOOKS ARE JUST THE BEST! Am I little child? NO NO NO NO I am a big child XD
I can’t do prose either so we’re TOTALLY THE SAME HERE. *hi fives* I try with Sarah Crossan’s books??? But One = not really working for me…and then I read her latest book We Come Apart and just agh. It was SO confusing. *runs away from poetry forever*
*adds all books to TBR pile*
*runs for safety*
*peaks from under a rock to see if pile has tumbled over and it’s safe to leave*
*looks at chaos and randomly picks a book to read*
Loved your lists!
In Ugly Love from Colleen Hoover one of the character’s memories was told in song/prose format and centered, which I thought it was pretty cool… it also made the transition between past events and present to be quicker to the reader.
IT’S OKAY. YOUR TBR WILL BE KIND TO YOU I’M SURE. *laughs at own delusions* I mean, what is life for a bookworm if we’re not cowering in front of our TBR anyway? Good times. :’)
………….. Obsidio pushed back to March 2018. …………
*hides*
I KNOW. 😭😭😭 I had this post scheduled before I found out. I’m so dead omg.
Every time I come on your blog I end up buying at least one book. Now I need Half Bad. I appreciate your enabling.
Have you listened to the audio books of illuminae and gemina? Amazing! I think they are my favorites of all time. I just started Nevernight today because I liked illuminae. I will probably enjoy the subtitles. What you said about the subtitles reminds me of the whole brackets thing in The Princess Bride.
OMG YOU ARE SO WELCOME AND I SHALL BE HERE WITH CAKE AND A SHOCK BLANKET WHEN YOU REALISE THE PAIN OF WHAT YOU JUST BOUGHT. But it’ll be worth it. :’) And yessss, I LOVED the audios of Illuminae and Gemina!! I actually haven’t “read” Gemina for myself. 😂 Although I flicked through the pages to see the art after every few hours on the audio haha.
The format of “There Will Be Lies” sounds so interesting. I did love the uniqueness of Illuminae and Gemina. And I plan to read Nevernight soon and the idea of footnoting in a novel is so cool. One small touch of interesting formatting that I love is in Wolf by Wolf where the character’s instincts are written in all bold caps lock and things she is remembering is written in typewriter font and I liked that. It wasn’t too different but it was a bit different,
My Top Ten Tuesday
Ohhhhh Wolf By Wolf has unique formatting!?? *flails* I’ve been meaning to read that for like 2 years now…😂😂 And eeep, I hope you enjoy Nevernight!
I haven’t read most of these books. (📚=😄) They are nearly all on my TBR pile though. I LOVE LOVE LOVE all that unique formatting and all the illustrations. But I don’t get why most YA books DON’T have any pictures whatsoever. Why do all the books for 5 year olds have pretty pictures? When you open most a YA books all you see is:
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS
WORDS.
I know right?!? And tbh we are going to appreciate the pictures MORE than the 5 year olds, because we’ve been deprived.
I *liked* the footnotes in Nevernight but I didnt LOVE them. I’m re-reading it at the moment and skipping the footnotes…sooo much better!! Ummm omg I’m super excited for *waves wand* “Obsidio”! I can’t believe we have to wait for A YEAR 😂😂 In the meantime I am going to try and die in their book…I have goals at least. Awesome list 💜💜
I was laughing at the footnotes far too much for sanity basically. I have this THEORY that Mister Kindly is writing the book. Yes with his little shadow paws. IDK. I just think it’s him. :’)
AND AJFDSKLAD I’M STILL CRYING OVER OBSIDIO. 😭😭😭 WHY MUST WE WAIT SO LONG. MY FEELS ARE DEAD.
Ohhh I never thought of Mister Kindly writing the book! I thought Tric (in the hopes that he’s still kicking) or Mecurio…but Mister Kindly makes so much more sense!
Omg I hope it’s Tric. 😭😭😭😭 WILL NEVER BE OKAY AGAIN, STEFFY.
I LOVE unique formats in books. I have been thinking about buying Illuminae solely because of how beautiful it is (I KNOW I STILL HAVEN’T READ IT!). And since the third book is coming out soon it’s time I get on my war machine and make my way to the bookstore to spend some moneh!
Do young adult/adult books need more pictures? Hell yes.
A book with illustrations I loved which is YA would be Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer. Oliver is to die for.
YOU GOTTA READ ILLUMINAE, RAVEN. IT CALLS TO YOU!! *flails wildly* 😂 And omg I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the 3rd book isn’t coming out till March next year now. 😭😭
Ohhh, I’ve heard of Between the Lines! And now this makes me want to read it even more.😍
Yes, I do enjoy fancy formatting.
I enjoy Terry Pratchett’s way of using footnotes to add more puns.
Publishing on Kindle does not allow much font or formatting play. Publishing on Createspace does. I like to give my monsters and such their own font. When I wrote my zombie book, my zombies were VooDoo zombies, not apocalypse zombies. Since they are in a trance, they chant in monk-like dirges. I allow the font to wander around the page to illustrate being mesmerized.
Eek!
Cait, what are you doing? Get away from me with that knife you stabby pineapple! A
a
a
a
h
Ooof!
Jumping off that sentence was my only means of escape!
Hooray for silly formatting!
Happy Writing!
~Icky.
I haven’t actually read much Pratchett…I know right?!? HUGE bookworm tabboo.😂 I did love the book he cowrote with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens. <3 <3 So so much sass. BUT BASICALLY UNIQUE FORMATTING IS LIIIFE. Although good point: it's kind of a terror on a kindle.😂
when I finish writting my book, I’m going to add illistarations. and when my bff becomes a pixar artist, we will team up and make it into a tv show. as well as 700000000000000 other books. #goals and I actually made some big font in one spot, just to make clear that the character is not capable of thought right now. 😛
*****************************
I was dazed, and bruised, with multiple cuts and scratches. I huddled up in a ball, dirt sifting down from the ceiling. My brain was throbbing
OW OW OW OW
Driving any other thought out.
******************************
aw darn, in the actual book, the ‘OW’ is like, 10 times bigger and in shaky font. :I do you think the title should be ‘Hidden’ ? I’m concidering it…….
ow. my jaw hurts. darn expander! now my teeth hurt, food keeps getting stuck on the roof of my mouth, it’s difficult to pronounce certain words,* ** and I just noticed the new gap between my front teeth, which explains why it feels like i bit a block of cement.
mom says it will be worth it. I doubt it.
Most crazily, ~Olive
* which means its hard to read my sister books at night. which she’s not very happy about.
**hey look, I’m learning how to do footnotes! XD
Haha I loved your footnotes!!😂 And that is an EXCELLENT life career plan for you and your friend. *nods enthusiastically* My sister is an artist so I should whine at her to do some art for my books sometime.😂
HALF BAD TRILOGY!! XD Who even needs a heart? 😉
I LOVE books with unique formatting. Nothing gets my attention like – what madness is this? What is THAT doing in the middle of the page? …It’s pretty.
NOT US. HEARTS ARE FOR WEAKLINGS. WE JUST NEED SALLY GREEN TO WRITE 9389 MORE BOOKS AND KEEP US WEEPING ON THE GROUND. <3
Two of the short stories I wrote recently involved documents: One was newspaper articles, and the other journal entries and court transcripts. That was really fun to write. I really liked Illuminae, and now I have Gemina sittig on the shelf making me feel guilty. Our Chemical Hearts has some cool stuff like powerpoints and text messages interspersed through the prose, O si did enjoy that. And every chapter of The Trials of Apollo has a haiku epigraph thingy. Pictures are lots of fun for sure, though sometimes it takes a bit of time. Variation is the spice of life and all that haha.
Well obviously your writing is THE STUFF OF GOLDEN LEGENDS OF GLORY. *throws confetti at you* And you should definitely get onto Gemina soooon, although the cliffhanger is cruel and we have to wait until March for the next book. 😭😭 Still trying to duct tape back together my broken heart.
OH yes! This Apollo haikus were so hilarious. 😂😂
I tried to read 5 to 1 a couple months ago, but poetry and I are just not friends. My pretty little brain just doesn’t get it, but I like the idea of the story. It seems awesome!
I’m exactly the same!! The idea = the bessst. But poetry?!? I’M JUST A PUDDLE OF NO COMPREHENSION. *shares cake with you for our suffering*
I LOVED The Book Thief and Death! I even gifted that book to my friend on her birthday but I highly doubt she has read it😤😂 The thing I was most angry about was that Death was constantly spoiling stuff and I was like NOOOO!!!😭😵 Also, I have Half Bad (just bought it a few weeks ago) and I didn’t know about the unique formatting thing! So now I am 5000% EXCITE. ILLUMINAE is awesome and if I don’t get a title, blurb and cover soon for the third book, I am potentially going to spontaneously combust.😑 I liked the footnotes in Nevernight, but I started skipping them since they were distracting me from the story! #sorrynotsorry😜 The narrator was all kinds of awesome though😎
Omg I agree!! Death was SUCH a spoiler. 😂 That was probably my only peeve about the book…but somehow I was still like “Ok but surely not”…and then STILL had my heart broken. I’m super smart, obviously.
afjdkslad did you see the title of Illuminae 3 is out?!? It came out after I’d scheduled this post or I would’ve mentioned it.😂 I NEED THE COVER THOUGH. SO SO BAD.
I have a theory that the narrator of Nevernight is Mister Kindle. I KNOW HE’S A CAT, BUT SHH. IT WORKS.
I don’t care for unique formatting myself, as sometimes I can get confused reading a normally formatted book. Don’t we all accidentally skip an important paragraph then have to go back looking for what you missed? But I do agree YA books need more pictures. I love books with illustrations. They’re the best.
That’s far!! It’s not for everyone. 😜 Illustrations are sooo gorgeous and I’m glad we get maps and things on occasion, but more!! pretty !! drawings!! please!!
This is a super helpful list! I’m trying to buy more books on Kindle, but I prefer to have physical copies if they have unique formatting, which isn’t always apparent when you go to buy them. So this will be a nice little reference guide for me. Thanks! 😀
Oh oh agreed! Unique formatting on kindle books can be somewhat of a terror. 😜 I tried reading a kindle book that had footnotes before and it was soooo not working. 🙈🙊
I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE BOOK THIEF. Not only the story is amazing, I love Death as a narrator! He pays attention to our life (which is a bit comforting to me, but also maybe creepy) and his voice are really unique! also, I love the addition of illustrations and facts from Death 😀 I also agree that the format for Knife of Never Letting Go is unique, but sadly, I didn’t enjoy the book *hides*
Yesss, Death is just the BEST narrator…which feels like the weirdest sentence to type ever?!?? But we know what we mean. 😂😂
Omg love thisss!! Thank you for making this LIST for us (you see what I did here??? No,? Ok nevermind then…)
I would love to read all of these books mentioned hereee especially I have an eye for 2-3 in particular.
As for me when you say peculiar formatting the first book popping in my mind is Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children that has beautiful creepy pics in all 3 books!!! I love ittt
Also The perks of being a wallflower that is written entirely in epistolary form which I adored and this is one of my all time fav book… all the feels for I am really sensitive when it comes to child abuse and mental illness/disability books.
<3
OF COURSE I MADE A LIST. HOW COULD I NOT.😂😂 I mean, sometimes i even make lists inside of lists because I’m just that good. *nods* And oh yes!! Miss Peregrine’s is great with all those old creeptastic photos. Also Asylum by Madeleine Roux.
And I SO love Perks. ❤️💔 It’s the only book that ever made me actually tear up.
Wow, every time I think you can’t possibly have more books to offer us, you pile on 10 more. It’s sort of amazing and magical. But who knew there was SO many different ways to format books!?! Goes to show just how uncreative my formatting skills are. Oy.
Methinks I’m going to give Challenger Deep and There Will Be Lies a closer look 🙂
I’m like an ENDLESS BOOK FACTORY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 😂😂 This is what happens when you read so much hahah. And I know right?!? It’s amazing how boundless authors’ imaginations are.
I agree with all your pics! I’ve seen you post pics of Half Bad like a thousand times but I’ve never added it to my to-read list. It sounds amazing that it has unique formatting!
Another book I can think of that incorporates more visual elements is Everything Everything, by Nicola Yoon. I remember really liking the little drawings, attached documents. When I read Gemina, the journal illustrations kind of reminded me of that. They were so cute and I always thought they added to the story.
So when I read Illuminae, it was like, so much better. I loved it!
EEEEP, I HOPE YOU LIKE IT AND DON’T BREAK INTO TOO MANY MILLIONS OF PIECES AFTERWARDS. ❤️💔 I need to re-read it honestly. 😂
Oh I read Everything Everything as an eARC so it didn’t have any of the illustrations in it, but it had like “insert illustration here” parts…haha. So I knew it had them just didn’t know what they were. And omg I LOVE the cute drawings in Gemina. Marie Lu is an amazingly talented artist.😍
This is such a fun list, Cait!! I think I’ve only read Illuminae, but I’m tempted to try Nevernight JUST for those footnotes. They look wondrously intriguing. I usually read books with normal formatting, but YA totally needs more pictures. So i love books with pretty chapter headings. Like SoC. But really, we should just have full page illustrations because WHY NOT?
Oooh, yes do try Nevernight! If you like bloody adult epic fantasy anyway. 😜 And yES to more pictures. I mean, we’re going to appreciate the art just as much as the 5 year olds??? Someone give us more art????
DEATH’S NARRATION IN THE BOOK THIEF GIVES ME SO MUCH LIFE I CAN’T EVEN. That’s all. 😂 also the WordPress Reader doesn’t let me comment on your posts! I had to open a browser on my phone. Idk if that’s intentional.
IT GIVES ME LIFE TOO WHICH IS IRONIC SINCE IT’S DEATH.😂😂 (Omg I’m sorry! I don’t know what is wrong with the comments section?!? 🙈🙊)
The Book Thief is pure genius! I love the book, the narration and DEATH!!!! Also that book wrecked me, I still cry over Rudy. *go sobs in a corner*
I loved Half Bad, but for some reason, never read the sequels. I at least want to read Half Wild, because I heard that Nathan and Gabriel have some nice moments – flails in anticipation- and I am so here to read that!
Illuminae and I didn’t get along well at first, can you believe it? I actually got a headache reading all those formatting, but later I went back to it and it grew on me. Aidan takes the cake, though!
STILL BROKEN BY THE BOOK THIEF. WHY WAS IT SO CRUEL TO OUR FEELS. WHATEVER DID WE DO TO HURT IT. ❤️💔❤️💔 And omg Nathan and Gabriel are just the sweetest and it’s a sad story all up but it’s good. I think it stayed really true to how it began.❤️💔
I’m just going to keep using the broken heart emoji haha.
I do actually understand about Illuminae! I was REALLY confused for the first 100pages.😂
I love unique formatting! I actually wrote my grad school thesis on the structure of The Book Thief because I loved it so much. We need more books with unique formatting.
Omg your thesis must’ve been amazing. 😱😊
You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner has a deaf MC and there are words missing when she can’t make out someone’s lip reading, it was such a cool thing to include, and definitely made it a more real experience!
Oh that’s really good that it did that too!! I have that on on my kindle!! 🎉
I have, unfortunately, read very few books with unique formatting. (“The Tale of Hugo Cabret” (sp?) and a book of Poetry called “Pizza the Size of the Sun” and I think this is an utter travesty, as uniquely formatted books are awesome and amazing. Shish kabobs! I get bored of normal books! *Makes it her life’s mission to write a book that is uniquely formatted…*
OH yes I love Hugo Cabret too!! I wish I owned that book because it’s soooo beautiful. 😍😍
Hallo Cait! I’m tired, been a long day (that has nothing to do with you I know, Just need to give some background. Okay, I’ll leave a footnote). But your post did make a spark in my tired mind once again. Well done and thank you! Great photos BTW.
*I also love footnotes.
I’m glad you liked the post!!😂
Although I’ve often read and generally appreciated books that shake up the usual format (as long as it doesn’t veer too heavily into graphic novel territory, because they and I do NOT connect), I’d honestly never thought of writing like that myself until recently. Then I was looking for a non-boring way to expand on my world-building (especially without info-dumping), and I realized including letters, newspaper articles, etc. in novels has often been used to add in details necessary to the story or that the reader would find interesting, without needing the narrator to go on a big long tangent that will make the reader pass out. So I’m “shaking up” my series a little that way. And I found a simple but different way (changing the font) to denote an important thing for certain characters – and again, just making that trait a more natural part of the story, but making sure it stood out when it needed to.
Sometimes it’s the “little” things like that that really make a book stand out in our minds.
OHh that’s awesome that you’re adding in a bit too!! *flails* I haven’t done a lot of it myself? But I do break off sentences on occasion to make them more powerful (ha ha I hope) and let the letters fly off in an existential crisis across the page.😂 But doing world-building via interesting/unique formatting is SUCH a good idea!! Get the info across without putting anyone to sleep.!! (That’s only the hardest part about world building.😂
AAAHHH! I love unique books Cait! Haven’t read many though! I loved The Book Thief and Death’s frank logical sassiness 😛 I also LOVED Nevernight, you know that! Footnotes are glorious <3 ALSO I ORDERED HALF BAD ON AMAZON TODAY! So glad to see it on this list and I haven't read Illuminae!!! :/ I SO SO NEED TO! Also I'm intrigued with 5 to 1..the cover is so beautiful and INDIA! Gimme! I need more books about my motherland!! (Let's ignore the fact that my motherland is actually some planet far far away) My friends are pretty much convinced i'm an alien 😛
Great post Cait 🙂
FOOTNOTES FOR THE WIN HONESTLY. And fjadklsad I’m so glad you’re going to read Half Bad. I hope you loveeeee it!! And, I mean, you’ll probably end in a sobbing mess BUT I’M HERE IF YOU NEED TO HOWL. ❤️💔 #KindCait
A books written entirely in lists??? I need this book in my life…. I basically live my life entirely in lists!
Oh yeah, and I loved the footnotes in Nevernight too… I never understood why everyone seemed to hate them, but oh well, to each their own.
I live my life in lists too basically. 😂 IT’S THE WAY TO LIVE!! And omg I’m really glad you loved the Nevernight footnotes too!! IKR?!? Like what was even wrong with them?? They were interesting and funny.😂
Have you read “S”, (Ship of Theseus) by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst? The formatting is UNBELIEVABLE.
I’m seriously losing my mind over it.
Oooh, no I haven’t! I should check it out! THANK YOU.
It came with things stuffed between the pages. Significant portions are in ballpoint pen. The footnotes have footnotes.
The footnotes have footnotes….omg. 😍😍
I haven’t read most of these, but Illuminae and Half Bad are two of my favorites. I especially love how text is used in Illuminae. It makes reading it even more fun and completely enhances the experience. I feel like a participant.
Yesssss, I’m so glad you love Half Bad too!! I find it so hard to find other fans of it.🙈🙊 IT’S HEARTBREAKING BUT PERFECT.❤️💔
I have a book for you, Cait! A Visit from the Goonsquad by Jennifer Egan. Each chapter is different, there are many different narrators, and one chapter is a powerpoint presentation.
The overall story is really weird, and I loved it!
I love stories with differences, Shatter Me series with the scratched out lines is another one I absolutely loved!
Great list!
And yes, lists are important.
Wow that sounds really interest!! And I LOVED the Shatter Me series too!! I had to skip it for this post though, because I don’t own it haha. 🙈🙊
Oh WOW… the inside of The Knife of Never Letting Go is crazy! I only read those on audiobook so I had no idea about the physical books. Challenger Deep.. Illuminae… how the heck did those not make it onto my list? Geeze, brain. Keep up.
I actually wanted to try it on audio and see how it went!! But it’s also a delightful visual experience too…well NOT DELIGHTFUL. *starts crying because of certain death*
*SIGH* I know. It was an incredible audio though — one of my favorites.
I like unique formatting, or even just books with a slightly different aesthetic. 5 to 1 was definitely unique, even though I probably didn’t get the same experience because I read it in e-book form. (Same thing with Sarah Crossan’s One. Although, I did notice how the formatting of the verse changed near the end of the book, which was pretty cool.) Lots of Nick Bantock’s books are pretty unique, too, though they’re not novels… but how can you not love opening envelopes and reading the lovely letters inside?
There’s a book out there called House of Leaves that’s probably one of the most uniquely formatted books ever… but I just couldn’t get into it when I tried to read it years ago.
Sometimes uniquely formatted books ARE a bit hard to get into though, right?!? They can twist the brain a bit. 🙈🙊 I love the idea of a book told in letters that you open up, omg that’s so amazing!
Ah, yes, I absolutely loved Illuminae and its formatting; I honestly don’t think I would have loved it as much if it was told in boring old story-telling. I’m also a huge fan of how the Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman had these little mentions of the laws in the world and even inserted some articles of stuff happening in the real world at the time! It made for all the cooler a reading experience.
Also, SO MANY OF THESE BOOKS ARE ON MY TBR. Always need my daily reminder that I’m not doing well at conquering it. Pretty sure it’s conquering me at this point. 😂
I know right!?? The formatting REALLY made it special! 💕Otherwise it would’ve just been another same-old sci-fi invasion story. 😂 Although AIDAN was pretty special too haha. And omggg I only read the first Unwind book and then was too emotionally scarred to go on but I WILL for sure. Especially now that I know there’s some interesting formatting.
*whispers* My TBR is juts an insane monster by this point. I look at it and then run away and cry.
I love books with unique formatting! And I LOVE that I’m seeing more and more of them. I think it’s really fun when I’m reading a book that I didn’t know had unique formatting and then I run across it, because then it’s just a really fun surprise that makes me enjoy the book even more. Also, I totally forgot how great Challenger Deep was until I saw your pictures and now I really want to reread it.
Yes yes! I love when it’s a surprise too…it makes it aaall the more special. 💕
Yes books need more pictures!!!!!! You totally forgot about Roseblood too! I haven’t read it yet, but it has glorious red font! I love different colored font (ex. Legend series, The Graces, insert more awesome colorful fonted books here). Gah! I love this post, I am always looking for aesthetically fun to read books. Oh, I haven’t heard of There Will be Lies, but now I definitely will read it! I read some of Me being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You, and I DNF! I got tired of the main character, bleh! I don’t think unique formatting takes away from a story. It makes me want to read it more, plus I for some reason unknown to me always finish those ones sooo much quicker. I have also tried a lot of schizophrenia books, but I DNF any of them. I try to read books like that but then I’m so confused and I feel like it takes me longer than a normal person to understand. I guess that’s the point, but I for me schizophrenia books are hard to read. Also, when is Sally Green going to write more books! I need to know about certain characters after Half Lost!!!!!! ASDFGHJKL!
Do you consider different coloured font unique formatting then? 😂 I’m noooot sure if I do??? I hadn’t thought about it hahah. But I DO love how all of AG Howard’s books have different coloured fonts.😍
And I don’t blame you for DNF’ing Me Being Me…omg Darren was a brat.😫 And it was such a waste of a really good idea of writing a book in lists, right?!?
AND OMG I ACTUALLY SAW SOMETHING ON TWITTER THAT SORT OF SOUNDED LIKE SALLY GREEN HAD SUBMITTED A BOOK TO HER EDITOR SO OMGGG LET’S HOPE.
No I have never read a book with unique formatting. Yes I am sad. Yes I need to get my hands on a book with unique formatting xD. (but hey, I read Illusionarium by Heather Dixon and IT HAD FOOTNOTES AND IT’S MY FAVORITE).
Footnotes are good!! That’s a great start!!😂
Ah, I love The Book Thief and 5 to 1 sounds really interesting. =) Also I’m going to have to read Illuminae at some point, because I’m pretty sure this is the billionth list I’ve seen it on this week.
Yessss, Illuminae definitely wins for the unique category.😂 I’m not surprised everyone is mentioning it!
PETER PAN, THIS WAS A FANTASTIC POST. And darn you because now I need to devour all the books on this list (especially Illuminae! yes! please!). Unique formatting is THE BEST. It just adds a whole other feel to the story. I mean, sometimes, if it’s not on purpose, then it’s useless and/or distracting, but if it has a good intention and it WORKS, then it’s amazing. I like to write poems so I have a CHANCE of writing uniquely formatted books??? But for me it’s this or that, and not halfway, soooo. XD
Oooh, you so need to try Illuminae. IT’S ENTIRELY GLORIOUS AND IS PAINFUL THEREFORE MUST BE READ.😍😍
I really like books with unique formatting! From your list, I’ve read Illuminae (and Gemina) (Also apparently the last book is called Obsidio? And it’s not going to be out for like a year? SOMEONE HOLD ME), The Knife of Never Letting Go, and The Book Thief, which is one of my favourites of ever. Also I need to read the rest of the Chaos Walking series because I own them and everything and clearly need to get my life together. (Other series I need to finish: The raven Cycle, The Winner’s Curse, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, etc. Let’s not talk about the series I haven’t started *nervous laughter* )
I feel like I should read 5 to 1 just because verse books are short and it’s Indian. Although I do wish the author was Indian too but oh well, you can’t have everything. One verse book I have read is One, but I kind of found it was basically like sentences where the author decided to push the enter key in a few places and I thought that was extremely pointless. It just didn’t need to be in verse.
Have you read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children? It uses antique photos and it’s extremely cool. I haven’t finished the series, though, and i don’t plan to either *confession*
I KNOW.😭 I had this post scheduled before I saw the announcement but aghhhh why must we wait until MARCH. Those authors (and publishers) surely are snacking on our tears in their tea, let’s be real here).
afjdklsad finish the Raven Cycle though. 😍😍 FOR ME.
I didn’t really get on well with One either?? It was a bit abrupt for me, tbh. I always find books in verse aren’t deep enough and I don’t get to know the characters very well. I have read Miss Peregrine’s and I liked the creepy photos but I didn’t reeeally like the book. MY BAD. 🙈🙊
ILLUMINAE ILLUMINAE ILLUMINAE ILLUMINAE. My love for that book knows no bounds (also, Google was trying to get me to change Illuminae to Illuminate. I sense a conspiracy. XD).
GOOGLE IS POSSIBLY EVIL BUT THEN DIDN’T WE KNOW THAT ALREADY. :’) And afjdksad I love Illuminae so much it hurts. 😭😂
Wow! You never cease to amaze me with your awesome lists! I seriously need to read up on Illuminae since that’s on everyone’s radar!
Aww, thank you!!😂😂 Illuminae is definitely a popular one for this week’s TTT, right?!? AND SO DESERVING OF ALL THE FLAILS.😂
OH MY GOODNESS I /NEED/ TO READ HALF-BAD. I love books with unique formatting, but I haven’t read nearly enough. I’ll have to check out your recommendations! And ‘scuse, footnotes are obviously the best.
Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality
AHHH THANK YOU, ELLIE! And I hope you like Half Bad. The pain is worth it. ❤️💔
I adore how your chose to interpret this week’s TTT. I LOVE! mixed formatting in a book. Be it text messages, IMs, emails, pictures, poems, etc, I am all for it. It really takes the experience up a notch, as in the Illuminae Files. Another book that comes to mind is Hello? by Liza Wiemer. The format changes with the POVs (poetry, screenplay, pictures). I liked it. Great list!
Sam @ WLABB
Yessss! Anything is grand when it comes to mixing up the formatting. It just makes everything so interesting and different. And omg I have Hello on my wishlist but I didn’t realise it had unique formatting. #NEED
LOVE The Knife of Never Letting Go and of course Illuminae and Gemina. GAHD. Much pretty in those books.
THAT’S BECAUSE I HAVE EXCELLENT TASTE IN BOOKS, BEE. 😂😇😇
I’ve always wondered if it’s more expensive to print “special” books like these. Especially books that contain pictures and drawings.
Probably, right?! It’d be a ton of extra ink.😂
I am so ashamed to say I’ve only just gotten around to ordering Illuminae through the library I AM SO BEHIND! Better ate than never, right? This post was awesome btw, you are great at blogging! Your photos are just way too beautiful for words and you are so unique and adorable xD Keep up the amazing work!
Ohhh you should try it if you get a chance! IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL AND REALLY SPECIAL WITH THE FORMATTING. 😍
Omggggg you totally just made my day. THANK YOU. 💕💕
I am happy to see Illuminae on this list, I would have been shocked if it wasn’t XD I could also read 99 more books in that series but alas, there’s only one left… *cries*
Also, I didn’t know about the formatting of The Book Thief! It sounds amazing! I should see if it has an audiobook version…
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Omg I think Illuminae is on EVERYONE’S list this week haha. Now I’m crying because we don’t get book 3 for another year though. 😭😭
Oh no, I love unique formatting and I’ve only read ONE of these books… Well, who needs a life, anyway? Books have life in them. And people. And social interaction, most of the time.
Close enough.
Ah, yes, and I also LOVE THIS POST.
Dude EXACTLY. The only thing one needs is to read. *nods* Skip all that other boring stuff that other humans think we should participate in. Except eating. Eating is also important.
Yes. Food. Food is good.
Books provide all else needed in life. All hail the literary medium.
The Book Thief and Challenger Deep were both on my list this week too!
I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I CAN’T EVEn. 😍
THE BOOK THIEF YES OMG. The Book Thief is one of my favorite books of ever. I cannot sing its praises enough. Narrated by death? My kindred spirit?? Also including some illustrations as well as FONT AND SIZE CHANGES YES. THANKS.
I love when books break the mold with something as simple as format. It can totally shift the way a story impacts me. Of course, it can be done poorly, but I have yet to come across a book that was formatted differently that I didn’t like yet. AND OF FRACKEN COURSE MORE YA BOOKS NEED PICTURES.
AFjdksald The Book Thief is so precious and deserves all the love and also all the screaming from me because i’m still BrOkEN basically.
I love unique books – especially ones with unique formats like Illuminae and Gemina!!! I’m also in love with The Book Thief!! I need to read some of these other ones.
Yessss! They just make the reading experience such a beautiful and magical experience!
It’s rare for me to read or find books with unique formatting. The only one I can think of now that is not verse is a The Unexpected Everything which has a bunch of texts.
I’m glad you know the reason of life because people don’t usually get it – lists are amazing.
There are so many books I want to read from your list – thanks a lot! Challenger Deep and Half Bad mostly. Although Half Bad scares me. Both books never really crossed my mind until now.
I did not know Illuminae looked like that inside. I wish more books were like that but unique does tend to make those books even more special. So will we take away their specialness by making even more books list them? It’s a conundrum.
OH yes! I forgot about the texts in The Unexpected Everything! I liked those. 😂 AND I’M GLAD YOU AND I BOTH AGREE ON THE MEANING OF LIFE. *hi fives*
Half Bad is beautiful and perfect and also terrible. <3 GOOD LUCK.😂
And I guess that's a good point that having lots of unique formatting can make them not so special? But I still want to read more haha.
I have not read any of these – looks like I’ll be adding some books to my TBR list! I do wonder what the formatting of these books looks like on an eReader. Anybody know?
I didn’t read any of these on an ereader sadly. I can imagine they’d be a bit harder on ebook though? Like footnotes would be hard. 😭
I think Illuminae and Words In Deep Blue are great books that have a unique formatting! I love the formatting of Illumiane and the different formatting story telling styles! And for Words In Deep Blue with the letter format of the book! This was such a cool post Cait, thanks for sharing! <3
Ohhh I read Words in Deep Blue as an ebook so I didn’t see any unique formatting?! This makes me need to get a physical copy out now!! AND ILLUMINAE IS JUST EVERYTHING AFJDSKALFDJKLD.
The worst part of all of this list is how we do NOT get Obsidio this year AT ALL. But you couldn’t have known that then. You couldn’t know how deep it’d hurt. Speaking of deep pain, HALF BAD. I am still not okay with Half Lost and I mostly pretend it never existed. I removed the entire trilogy from my life, and by my life, I mean my bookshelf.
Also. NO WONDER I was confused with The Leaving! I had a stupid eARC and all those places with the special formatting? They just weren’t THERE– random chunks of text missing. They probably should have warned me. I need to read Nevernight too.
AND FINISH CHAOS WALKING, damn it! The next books are EVEN BETTER. Oh, and randomly, I agree about Challenger Deep, 5 to 1, and of COURSE Illuminae.
I knooooow. I mean I just posted this and then saw the news on twitter AND NOW MY HEART IS BROKEN. I mean, even more broken. So that’s saying something.
PFFT. YOU’RE SO WRONG ABOUT HALF BAD, SHANNON. JUST BE WRONG OVER THERE. 😂😂
I love books with unique formatting but come across them so rarely! And several that are on your list for this are on my TBR and I was completely unaware of the formatting. Mainly for The Book Theif, I didn’t know that was narrated by death and now I’m thinking I need to move it up my list. I know one book I’ve read that had really unique formatting is Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. The hardcover is set up to where it switches POVs by making you flip the book upside down. Definitely a fun reading experience, I loved it. Great picks for this, Cait!! 😊
Eeep, you should definitely read The Book Thief ASAP. 😍 It’s beautiful and heartbreaking SO OBVIOUSLY THE BEST COMBINATION EVER. Ohh I’ve read Flipped but I read an ebook so mine didn’t make me do that, but that’s so cool?!? I LOVE IT.
The Bartimaeus trilogy has footnotes too. Just saying… 😉
Omgg I need to get onto those! I read the graphic novel and loved it. 😂
The book I’ll be reading next is Illuminae so I’m excited and nervous about it at the same time. I’m afraid I may not be able to follow what’s happening because of its unique formating. But, I also feel like it will be a fantastic experience, considering I have not read many books in this format.
I did read Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You (this title is soooo long omg) and reading your thoughts, I admit I couldn’t have written a better description for Darren, the main character. He was just ridiculous to read about. I had countless problems with this novel, but I still enjoyed the formating. Although there were many useless lists throughout it, I imagine it would’ve been hard to tell a story in this way, but the author made a great job – even though he probably spent all his brain cells doing that and forgot how to give his characters likable personalities.
But anyway! Thanks for all the recommendations, Cait 🙂
I did actually struggle with the first 100-pages but once you get into the flow of it, it’s all PERFECTION. 😍😍
And omg I really hated Darren. He was seriously homophobic too which was disturbing. I reeeally wanted it to do the list format justice bUT YET NO. 😭😭 I hope more authors write books in lists though!! NEED.
I LOVE BOOKS WITH COOL FORMATTING TOO! They are just so cool! Have you read Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn it’s also pretty strange because letters start to disappear from the book as the novel progresses. You should check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16200.Ella_Minnow_Pea
I haven’t heard of that one yet!! I’ll definitely check it out on goodreads! 😀 Thanks for the recs. 🎉🎉
Great post, Cait- I HAVE NOT READ ANY OF THESE CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS?!
WELL GET ONTO THIS, DAISY. YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO.
This whole blog post I was waiting for Illuminae to make an appearance, hahahhaa. But omg, I love unique formats. And you’re making me want to reread The Book Thief for like the 32nd time.
Of course I had to mention Illuminae. And now I’m crying because like I literally posted this and then heard about Obsidio not coming out for another year.😭
Fantastic post 😉 I do love unique formatting in books! (And lists. Always lists) However, have you heard the heartbreaking news?? Obsidio has been pushed back to March 2018 *cries forever* *but is also relieve because year 12 exams*
YES OMG I HEARD ABOUT OBSIDIO. 😭😭😭At least we have the title to obsess over right??!? But I wonder why it had to be pushed back.😭
That is very true – and soon (hopefully!) the cover 😍 Still waiting on the UK Godsgrave cover though…
Yas. I agree with The Book Thief. It’s such a gorgeous book. All of these are beautiful. I need to read them all 😀
Amber @ Escape Life in the Pages
It is so so gorgeous AND YET SO SO PAINFUL. ❤️💔
Ug, I really must read the Knife of Never Letting Go! And yay for Illuminae! It’s a rollercoaster of a read that never want to get off!
Awesome list, Cait!
Omg Illuminae will never not be perfect. *hugs it and howls because heart is broken still*
Love this list! I would also recommend the Herringford and Watts series by Rachel McMillan – such fun formatting with footnotes, etc.
My TTT
Ooh thank you for the recommendation! I’ll have to check those out! 😀
I’m so glad to find someone who loved the Half Bad series as much as I do. Thanks for that. I read most of the books on the list and I thoroughly agree that formatting makes a difference in how I look at and feel about a book, I also like lots of pictures in books, its a shame that publishers seem to think once you become a proficient reader you no longer need pictures in your books. Heavy sigh. Speaking of picture in books have you seen Scott Westerfeld’s series Leviathan? I listened to the audio books, but I had the print copies open so that I could look at the amazing pictures. I highly recommend it just for the pictures, but the story is really good too, especially if you are into steampunk.
AHHH I’M GLAD YOU LOVE IT TOO *comes to stand with you* I feel like we’re a tiny minority?!? But they were perfect. ❤️💔
And omg I know right?!? I might not be a smol child but I am a SMOL ADULT WITH A CHILD HEART and I still need illustrations. And I actually found Goliath at a library sale! But I need to find the first Leviathan book. 😂
I looooove books with unique formatting! I’ve always been obsessed with epistolary books, and basically if it’s told through IMs/emails/texts, I want to read it! I actually just read Illuminae (finally!) and LOVED it, so now I’m impatiently waiting for Gemina to get delivered tomorrow so I can read that too! I haven’t read the others on your list, so I’m excited to check those out! <3
Yesss!! I love those too! Sometimes I miss the dialogue, but honestly the letters/texts/emails books can be the best.😍 Like Simon Vs or Perks of Being a Wallflower!
I love love love books with formatting. Um who doesnt?? Like just how??
THE BOOK THEIF IS AMAZING AND AGH AGH AGH ALL THE FEELS
i havent read most of these books but i NEEEEEEEEEEEEED too.
have you ever read brown girl dreaming? the formatting is 10/10 on that one
but i have to read the book thief in 8th grade, next year, and im worried having to take a final and dissecting it and ugh will ruin its amazing ness for me. 🙁
I KNOW RIGHT???! It’s like getting a story plus interesting pictures/fonts. LOVE. WHAT COULD GO WRONG. 😍😍
I have heard of Brown Girl Dreaming but I didn’t know it had unique formatting! *pushes up higher on the TBR*
I love books with different formatting! I’m going to have to add There Will Be Lies to my tbr! The Chaos Walking is one of my favorite trilogies and you really need to read the last two books! 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
I hope you like them if you get a chance to try them!! *flings confetti* 🎉🎉
If you like books with special formats, you definitely have to look into Aidan Chambers’s Dance Sequence. They are six standalone YA novels, so you can read them in any order. I’ve read the first four and three of those have some sort of experimental layout going on (and even the fourth has letters inserted and a second voice giving comments on the main story in little passages between brackets). My personal favourite is ‘Now I Know’, but I have weird tastes, so I’d say start with ‘Dance On My Grave’ (but be prepared to bawl your eyes out because OMG MY POOR HEART) or ‘Breaktime’ and move on from there.
I’ve written reviews of these here, if you’re interested (and don’t mind my shamless self-promo): http://linebetween.tumblr.com/tagged/aidan%20chambers
Also, I love the way you write about books. You have such a unique voice. Rock on!
If you like books with special formats, you definitely have to look into Aidan Chambers’s Dance Sequence. They are six standalone YA novels, so you can read them in any order. I’ve read the first four and three of those have some sort of experimental layout going on (and even the fourth has letters inserted and a second voice giving comments on the main story in little passages between brackets). My personal favourite is ‘Now I Know’, but I have weird tastes, so I’d say start with ‘Dance On My Grave’ (but be prepared to bawl your eyes out because OMG MY POOR HEART) or ‘Breaktime’ and move on from there.
I’ve written reviews of these on my tumblr and they’re all tagged #aidan chambers if you’re interested.
Also, I love the way you write about books. You have such a unique voice. Rock on!
Ooh, I haven’t heard of those so I’ll definitely need to look them up. THANKS!
And aww thank you!!😂
There goes my TBR, just multiplying like yeast. Very chill and subtle and BOOM it’s overflowing now.
Multiplying like yeast….😂😂😂 OMG YOU CRACK ME UP.
The Gallagher Girls had a pretty interesting format (by which I mean it had lists and an occasional mission report)
OH yes! I’d forgotten about that.😂
Another book with unique formatting that I adore would be Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson! Have you read it?
Oh yes! I have read that one and I really liked it!! SO SAD THOUGH.
It really is quite heartbreaking. Have you read Speak by the same author? If so, which one did you like better?
I haven’t read Speak yet, but I do want to!! I’ve read The Impossible Knife Of Memory though. She’s such a good author. ❤️💔
Wow, these books are so gorgeous! I totally agree it’s nice for YA books to have pictures! But also, not too much because then pictures would be normal and it wouldn’t be as cool to see one! I also love maps in books, especially after I read the book because it gives me context!
That’s kind of true too. 😂 It probably wouldn’t be as special if all the books did it?!? But Ahhhh MAPS THOUGH. I do firmly believe all books need maps.
MAAANNCCHEEEEE. I loved the top 3 books on your list, but not so much Me Being You lol. I actually bought 5 to 1 but I haven’t read it yet! Crazy Rich Asians also has hilarious footnotes, and it’s diverse as well. MY BELOVED ILLUMINAE AND GEMINA COME TO MEEE
I didn’t love Me Being Me either haha. I just liked the list aspect. 😂 AND OMG STILL NOT OKAY AFTER GEMINA BTW AND DOUBLY NOT OKAY THAT WE DON’T GET OBSIDIO FOR SOOOO LONG.😭
Hi,
So I’ve been following your blog for a while, and I feel compelled—LIKE,.. COMPELLED—to tell you how much I figging loveeeeeeE it. It’s 300% fAbulOUs and I cannot contain myself at the Auuuhmazingness.
But yeaaaass (totally embarrassing comment but hey ho!)
—Lu
Awwww, THIS MAKES MY DAY.❤️ AREN’T YOU THE LOVELIEST THING OF EVER. 😍😍 *gives you cake*
Awwwwww! Thats so incredibly SWEET! AWWWW YOUR BLOG MAKES ME SO HAPPY. (sorry I need to tone down the the fan-girling over your blog HAHAH IMPOSSIBLE!)
*INSITS you share the cake with me*
whoa whoa whoa I listened to Challenger Deep via audiobook and had no idea about the cool formatting! I’ll have to find a hard copy and look at it.
also yes, The Book Thief is amazing
Oh I want to try it on audio sometime!!! AND THE BOOK THIEF IS EVERYTHING. ❤️💔
I’m reading The Book Thief now. The formatting is what is keeping me at it. If this had been a regular book set in Nazi Germany I may have quit. Although, I did pick it up at the behest of quite a few friends – they never explained why it was such a great book.
While not quite as unique as the ones you have here, as I read the post I couldn’t help thinking of The Posession by AS Byatt. The premise is two literary professors find each other through their research and reading the letters of their subjects. I liked bouncing from time to time and reading the letters. Very interesting. Another that is kind of similar is The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova – more letters and research, but throw in Dracula.
I’ve also read a few younger reader books like Emily the Strange that are pretty cool. A few I didn’t like as much due to the reliance on text speak. It’s my own opinion that children should learn to read and write the language in full before taking a lot of short cuts. I know that’s not always a popular way to think, but my degree is in English and my Shakespeare class entitled “Hamlet: Words, Words, Words” would have been a lot different if all we had to look at were things like UR and BTW and emojis.
Great list!
I haven’t heard of The Possession!! I should look it up! And I’m SO glad you’re liking The Book Thief!! 🎉 It was definitely a unique way to tell a story that lots of people have told before. bLESS IT.
They made a movie out of it with Gwenyth Paltrow. The book is much better (isn’t that almost always the case?).
The format isn’t nearly as unique as the one Lexxie mentioned. However, it was the first one I read with changing fonts and little nuances like that. I could picture finding and reading letters and trying to track down the places and people mentioned to learn more about the writer(s), etc.
Blue Ballett’s The Wright Three series is for younger readers, but incorporates art, science, logic, music, architecture, etc. in solving mysteries. I’ve always loved codes, so the two I read were awesome. Must find the others.
Markus Zusak really has a unique way of showing how things were for Liesel and everyone. I’m about 40% finished.
I am quite fond of books told in non-traditional formats, although I certainly wouldn’t want to read them all the time. I think their relative scarcity is what makes the unique. If every second YA novel was told in a non-traditional way I think we would all get bored of it very quickly.
But when it’s done well, I really like it! I think the only books that is a favourite that is told in a non-traditional way is The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan, which was beautiful. There was poetry, and even a stream of consciousness, which was AWESOME.
I have heard pretty great things about quite a lot of the books on this list, and even own a few, so I hope I’ll have some more favourites written in non-traditional ways soon *crosses fingers*
That is true! They wouldn’t be so special if they were everywhere I guess…but I still can’t help wanting more of them. 😂 I still need to actually read a David Leviathan book!! I read his one he co-wrote with John Green, but I definitely need to read more. 😜
Okay, well I definitely need to check all of these out, because I got excited at the fact the Miss Peregrine’s series had cool formatting, and these? WELL THESE ALL LOOK AWESOME AS HECK. NEED.
I’M GLAD YOU THINK THEY LOOK COOL. *tosses confetti at you*
Saw this article first thing this morning. GREAT way to start my day. It was very interesting. Thanks.
Eeep, I’m so glad you enjoyed my post! Thanks!
The formatting was one of the things I liked most about Everything, Everything. The mixed mediums really helped keep my attention!
It always keeps my attention so so much better!!
Oh my gosh, that cat gif 😀 where do you even find those. I think we visit different giphys :DDD Amazing 😀
Oh wow, the Knife of Never Letting Go looks absolutely awesome! I miss out on these a lot… Reading mostly ebooks. Not the same.
Oh my gosh, deaf narrator! THAT is awesome. I did not know about this book! I am checking it out. That just left me speechless here, thanks for showing me :0
Just finished The Book Thief…AWESOME!
Oops! this was supposed to go in general comments. LOL!
A book I feel deserves to be on this list is “S.” by Doug Dorst, and J.J. Abrams. I haven’t read it yet, but it arrives today and I’m excited! Another book I ordered for its unique format is called “The Raw Shark Texts” by Steven Hall.
DO A PART TWO OF THIS
If I find more books, I will!
Since you like lists so much I recommend the Geek Girl series by Holly Smale. I hope you get to read it as soon as you can!
Oh I have heard of those ones! Definitely want to try them someday. 😀
Where did you get the Nevernight bookmark?!
It’s from @xcrini’s store on instagram!
I absolutely adore The Book Thief and the Illuminae series. And 5 to 1 was pretty cool too. Unique formatting is my FAVORITE. I love it. It moves the book along faster and it’s more exciting. What’s not to like? 😉 Love the list!
Hi!! Does anyone know the actual name for writing styles such as these? There was a book I saw (can’t remember the name or author), where there were blocks of writing on the page and it would read like poetry in a horizontal line across 2 pages?? It’s been bothering my brain that I don’t know the word for it and I can’t find the specific name in this article either? Does anyone know?
Hello, I would just like to say this is the first article of yours I have read and also you are my favourite writer ever. I love your energy and opinions and happiness so much, the positivity is amazing and potent and feels like a crushing wave of joy, which is good. Please email me, I’d love to talk to you about the book I’m writing! I’m considering using weird fonts and formatting, and I would like someone to chat to about it 🙂 We could be formatting buddies! Have a great day you beautiful specimen of a human being and everyone else who is also a beautiful specimen of a human being that is reading this!